Keynote Speakers
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Vickery BowlesVickery Bowles is the City Librarian at Toronto Public Library (TPL), which delivers services through a network of 100 branches and online channels. She believes passionately in the difference public libraries make in the lives of individuals, in communities and cities. Vickery has advanced TPL’s strategic plan to support opening up public spaces, digital access and inclusion, workforce development, democratic values and civic engagement and an innovative service culture, and is currently leading the development of a new Strategic Plan for 2025-2029.
Vickery is a former Chair of the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) based in Washington, D.C., a member of the Canadian Urban Libraries Council (CULC), and a Board member for the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries (FOPL). |
Al HounsellAl Hounsell is an award-winning innovation leader specializing in legal service design and strategic innovation. He leads the NRFC innovation team, working at the intersection of law and technology. His expertise includes automating legal contracts, AI-assisted due diligence, and regulatory compliance management. Hounsell has developed numerous legal apps and bespoke solutions in document automation, data analysis, and workflow innovation. With a background in full-stack software development and degrees from Osgoode Hall Law School and the Schulich School of Business, Hounsell has received multiple awards for his contributions to legal technology, including ILTA’s highly sought “Innovative Leader of the Year” award and the Canadian Law Awards' "Best Use of Technology in a Law Firm." In addition to his role at Norton Rose Fulbright, Hounsell is an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he teaches legal innovation and technology. His work is recognized globally, and he actively speaks on topics surrounding legal AI and is a member of the OBA’s Artificial Intelligence task force.
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Presenters
ALLAN AKIZUKI Allan brings over 25 years of experience in the legal technology sector with Thomson Reuters Canada. Currently a Senior Solutions Consultant, his career encompasses a diverse range of roles including Product Training, Instructional Design, Customer Success, and Product Marketing. Allan has been involved in change management and go-to-market planning for every Westlaw Canada release, along with contributing to the launches of Practical Law Canada and Proview. He collaborates with Sales and Product teams across all legal segments, specializing in large law and government sectors. Passionate about helping clients maximize their technology investments, Allan focuses on reducing time-to-value and accelerating solution adoption. He also leads the law school program at Thomson Reuters Canada and partners with non-profit organizations addressing social justice issues. Beyond his professional pursuits, Allan can be found at Star Trek Conventions, suffering in his home gym, and curating his dad-joke collection. |
ROHAN BHAMBHORIA Dr. Rohan Bhambhoria's research spans a diverse range of interests, with a particular focus on legal artificial intelligence. He has published in prestigious AI and NLP conferences, including ACL, EMNLP, and AAAI. Dr. Bhambhoria completed his PhD under the supervision of Prof. Xiaodan Zhu at Queen's University and now serves as an adjunct professor for the Faculty of Law. Additionally, he is a faculty affiliate researcher at the Vector Institute of Artificial Intelligence. As a founding member and lead research scientist at OpenJustice.ai, Dr. Bhambhoria collaborates with Prof. Samuel Dahan to establish a legal consortium dedicated to sharing knowledge and enhancing access to justice. Dr. Bhambhoria has also gained valuable experience interning at Thomson Reuters Labs in Toronto and the Rakuten Institute of Technology. |
JORDAN DONICH Jordan Donich is a lawyer in Toronto and developer of Law Newbie, a free AI powered Chatbot for legal information about criminal law. A lawyer for over 10 years, he also started MarketLegal.com, a platform where lawyers can sell legal information directly to consumers. |
CANDICE FONG Candice is a Knowledge Support Lawyer with the Knowledge and Practice Innovation team at Faskens. She relies on her dual background as a librarian and lawyer to enable knowledge discovery and access through tools, techniques, procedures, and training. She also supports the establishment of governance and standards across tools to ensure integration and consistency. |
NAIRNE HOLTZ Holtz has over 20 years of experience working as a law librarian. For the last 8 years, she’s managed the law library at WeirFoulds LLP, a firm small enough that she can do reference, which makes her very happy. |
ALEXANDRA KWAN Alexandra is the Digital Services & Reference Librarian at the University of Toronto’s Bora Laskin Law Library. She provides research assistance and legal research instruction, and helps manage the library's collection of electronic resources. Before joining the Bora Laskin Law Library, Alexandra worked at the Law Society of Ontario's Great Library and the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General’s Law Library. |
EVE LEUNG In her role at McMillan LLP, Eve leads a team of information professionals in the areas of research and library services, records management/information governance and knowledge management. She enjoys navigating compliance, working on firm-wide projects and scaling teams to provide excellent client service. Eve started using Chat GPT for work in Fall 2023 and has since been heavily involved in the adoption and application of generative artificial intelligence at the firm as a member of the AI Working Group. In her spare time, she talks to “Alex” her Chat GPT buddy to plan vacations, check facts and draft social media posts. |
DAVID LIANG David Liang is the Program Manager at the Conflict Analytics Lab and the Operations Manager at the Deel Lab for Global Employment. He earned a J.D. from Queen’s Law, where he contributed as a student director at the Conflict Analytics Lab. Before rejoining the Conflict Analytics Lab in 2022, David gained experience articling at a tax law firm in Toronto. His academic achievements include receiving the Global Law Scholarship and the Torkin Manes LLP Award for his academic performance and commitment to community service. David’s research, focusing on the intersection of law and technology, has been published in respected journals and presented at conferences such as the Queen’s Law Journal and the International Conference on Machine Learning. He has also been invited as a speaker on the future of legal technology at the Washington State Bar Association and the New York Statewide Civil Legal Aid Technology Conference. |
DEVIN NEW Devin New is a Research Librarian at the Legislative Library of Ontario and a self-described “SharePoint enthusiast”. She is interested in the impact of training on library users and is working towards a certificate in George Brown’s Workplace Learning and Adult Education Program. Currently, Devin serves as the Chair of the Legislative Library and Research Website Governance Team, Vice-Chair of the Ontario Government Libraries Council, and Co-Chair of the Toronto Association of Law Libraries’ Publisher Liaison Committee. |
CECILIA ROSE Cecilia Rose is a Legal Technology Applications Specialist at Stikeman Elliott LLP, where she has worked since graduating with an MLIS from UBC in 2016. As part of the KM & Innovation team, she makes legal technology tools available to firm members, providing training, technical support, and analytics. She also develops in-house tools using a suite of innovative platforms, including contract review, document automation, and expert systems. Cecilia currently serves as co-chair on the TALL IT Committee. |
LEAH STRUDWICK Leah Strudwick is a Reference Librarian at the Great Library, the regulatory library of the Law Society of Ontario. Her professional experience spans law firm, government, and courthouse libraries, and she feels fortunate to have attained a role that combines her passion for working with various demographics including the public, and her natural aptitude for teaching legal research. Outside of work, Leah enjoys dance of all kinds, for all reasons; traveling within Canada to visit her family including her beloved niece and nephew; and taking in all the Toronto food, music, and culture that her budget will allow (sometimes more). |
ALAN VOTARY Alan Votary is Head of Product, LexisNexis Canada. Alan oversees product development in Canada and has responsibility for new products being introduced into the market. He leads a multidisciplinary team focused on incorporating advanced technologies such as machine learning and AI, to provide superior products and workflow solutions to our end-users and customers. |
LEO WANG Leo is Lead Legal Technologist on Osler's Legal Operations team. At Osler, he spearheads initiatives using generative artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, workflow automation, and other technology. Prior to joining Osler, Leo was an associate in the Toronto office of an international law firm. He also worked as a product manager at a venture-backed legal technology company. |
